Our work

Belgium’s largest energy cooperative takes shape

ClimateDesign, Identity & Strategy

What we did

Raised €7 million with a €100K budget
Managed 34 stakeholders
New name, narrative, and visual umbrella concept
Raised awareness and mobilized the general public
Engaged the support base
Developed campaign materials: press release, website, mailings, and social media

Target audience

People like you and me, who want to take more control of their energy.

+7 million

collected from 4,000 people just like you and me

600,000

people reached throughout Belgium

Onze energie website →

Interview with Philippe Awouters,
Coordinator of Onze energie

Challenge

“Convincing citizens to invest in offshore wind.”

Philippe: “We had one question for Jos: How do we get offshore wind energy from the sea to people’s homes? ‘We’, that is, REScoop Flanders, REScoop Wallonia, and 32 local energy cooperatives, wanted to invest in offshore wind energy, together. To do that, we had to join forces, present a clear, unified message to the public, and find a way to convince citizens to invest alongside us.”

Result

“A new brand for the general public: Onze energie.”

Philippe: “Jos guided us through the entire process and turned a fragmented narrative into a single, clear, and recognizable whole. The focus groups she organized for us provided a great deal of clarity to the 32 cooperatives and other partners involved. If you want to secure funding, you have to be credible and present a single, strong narrative to the public. Based on those insights, Jos also guided us in choosing a name. That’s how ‘Onze Energie’* came to be.”

Take control of your energy.

Philippe: “Jos and we have gone through a process together that spanned over several years. What stands out to me about Jos is their honest approach. Thanks to their team, I learned that marketing isn’t a dirty word. They taught us to follow a clear path toward a specific goal. It didn’t happen overnight, but step by step, we reached our ultimate goal: convincing citizens to invest.”

* Onze energie stands for ‘Our Energy’

Approach

A story that starts with people

Rising energy bills, uncertainty about our energy supply, and the climate crisis: many people feel they have little control. With Onze energie, we’re turning that around: putting your energy in your own hands. No technical jargon like “citizen energy cooperative” or “energy transition”. Just plain language that makes the benefits clear, for people like you and me.

One brand that unites 32 cooperatives

A strong brand only works when everyone is on board. Through research, focus groups, and workshops, we gained the support of the 32 cooperatives step by step. Then we put it into practice: ready-to-use content and materials for the website, newsletter, and social media. This allowed every cooperative to get started right away, from professional communications staff to volunteers.

Takeaways

“A flexible process can be very stressful for some people.”

Philippe: “Everyone experiences a process like this differently. For example, the preparations for a major presentation kept changing right up until the last minute. That gives you flexibility in the process, and Jos remained very calm throughout it all. They assured us that everything would turn out fine. But for some members of the core team, that kind of last-minute strategy is very stressful. We’d take that into account more during the next step.”

“You have to make time not only to explain things, but also to explain them again.”

Goele: “Getting 32 Dutch- and French-speaking cooperatives or stakeholders on the same page wasn’t always easy. Sometimes it was frustrating to have to explain things over and over again, but you can’t expect everyone to be on board all the time. We learned to set aside time for that. We repeated everything until everyone understood. We completely eliminated our own jargon.”

Philippe Awouters,
Coordinator of Onze energie

Amid the complex web of stakeholders and goals, Jos always kept sight of the big picture. They remained calm while managing all the various interests. They showed us that marketing isn’t a dirty word. There were people in the working group with more than 20 years of experience in cooperatives. They told us afterward that it was only then that they truly understood what communication entails.